Emergencies during a flight happen in rare occasions especially when it involves the pilot himself. That's what happened in a flight from Phoenix to Boston on Monday night. An American Airlines pilot collapsed and died while performing his duties to his passengers and flight team.
Cpt. Michael Johnston, 57, was the pilot of a flight with 147 passengers and five crew on board when he suddenly suffered from an illness and died, CNN News reports. The crew and co-pilot's teamwork made them land the jet safely.
During the time of distress inside the Airbus 320 en route Phoenix to Boston, a report was made to the airport tower saying, "American 550. Medical emergency. Captain is incapacitated," reports Fox News. The flight was diverted to Syracuse, New York.
However, the cause of death was yet to be identified, while the medical examiner who conducted toxicology tests said that the cause was of 'natural illness'. Meanwhile, the pilot's wife told local TV she had been told that the pilot might have died of a heart attack since he underwent double heart bypass surgery in 2006, reports BBC News.
According to the passengers on board, they experienced an abrupt descent and turbulence during the flight. They were just told that the pilot went ill but learned of his untimely death when they were already in another flight to Boston.
Passenger Peter McSwiggin told CNN affiliate WCVB-TV, "If it wasn't for the copilot using a cool head, it might have been more disastrous."
Meanwhile, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker wrote an email to employees in memoriam of their lost colleague. "Today we received the extremely sad news that Phoenix-based Captain Michael Johnston passed away while at work. Capt. Johnston was piloting Flight #550 from Phoenix to Boston early Monday morning when he fell ill," he wrote.
Captain Johnston lived in West Jordan and has been flying for well over 25 years. He started his career as a pilot in 1990. His remains will be brought to Utah.